This is a blog for Texas State students taking FCS 4347 (Family Policy) to be able to post their weekly reading assignment (3 newspaper articles about issues or policies that effect individuals and families) and to write their reactions, opinions and implications of the articles.

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Senator Asks Cell Phone Carriers: What exacly do You Share With the Government?

4. This article is concerning a potential policy that is being considered to help the privacy issues dealing with governments involvement in data collection through the personal user.

5. This article is important for individuals and families because it is focusing on the amount of privacy the government is allowed to have for data use on personal cell phones. This could potentially effect families involved or victims of a criminal investigation as well as effect those whose privacy rights are being taken away.

6. After reading this article, Senator Markey is cautious and curious about the details related to the government receiving cell phone data from major cell phone companies and wants to know the ins and outs of their reasoning. I agree that cell phone data is very crucial in criminal investigations, but has it gone too far? Throughout every trial we hear more and more evidence arising from cell phone data. I believe that throughout these major investigations that cell phone data is crucial in finding evidence. Although for the average American this could go against privacy laws, I think that no matter how much data is collected throughout the trial is fair evidence. We all know that anything we do online or throughout our smart phones is saved somewhere in cyberspace. Throughout an investigation if there is data that is viable on a phone, it should be able to be part of the trial under the circumstances that the government retrieved it in a fair matter.

1 comment:

What is exactly that we tell the government through our cellular devices? I do not think many people even consider the amount of information that we are providing the government to see. Mr. Markey was asking a major question that really stuck out to me. That question was, how often do they ask for our info, location, and when are they browsing our history records? The numbers need to be recognized and something needs to be done to protect our people. I think it would be extremely interesting to see what exactly the government is doing with this information. This article is definitely eye opening for many reasons. For years they have been talking about how the government could tap into our phone calls at anytime, but now we are dealing with much more than just what we say on an open phone line. The scariest of all is the information given out by our cell phone providers. The U.S. Government can locate us at anytime they need or want to. This is a very scary thought. Many people, including myself, have passwords, account numbers, and confidential messages that we do not necessarily want others to know about. It is also true that all the information we have on our smart phones can be seen by the government, but what if this information gets into the wrong hands? I've learned that first hand. We can’t even trust information to be protected through cell phones, electronic devices, or computers anymore. I have personally had my bank account number stolen and my email account hacked a few times. Behind every virus is a hacker and they are all over our computers, even if we are not aware. These viruses are usually someone trying to get information they should not have. I believe the Government needs to consider the information that really is crucial to have for investigations and they should have set limitations for what they are aloud to view. The cell phone providers should also consider having regulations for the amount of information they give out without their customers’ consent. In my opinion, the government should also have to present a warrant to see these records. As Americans, we maintain the right to privacy and I don’t think we should have to live in fear of everything that we do and say over a telephone or the internet. In conclusion, this article brought up a lot of reasons to think twice before putting important things on our phones. I know I personally will not be using my phone to store passwords anymore. It will cause too much concern and it is not worth the risk. It really is sad to know the lack of privacy we have these days. I think the best policy for Americans to follow would be to lay low. Never do, say, or be associated with anything that could potentially get you into trouble. I am sorry to hear that we have to question our Government so much and that there is so much we do not know.